About: Tomohiro Kojiri

Tomohiro Kojiri (Japanese: 小尻知博; December 12, 1957 – May 4, 1987) was a Japanese journalist for the Tokyo-based newspaper Asahi Shimbun. Kojiri was killed in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, near Osaka, during a shooting at the Asahi Shimbun bureau; the shooter also fired at two other people, injuring one. Investigators believed that Kojiri was targeted by a right-wing, political extremist group known as Sekihōtai (Japanese: 赤報隊), as Kojiri had written a story that was about how the Japanese discriminated against the Korean minority, and typed letters were sent in the group's name claiming responsibility. Before this event, an attack on a newspaper in Japan had not occurred since 1972. The attack is known in Japan as the Asahi Shimbun Hanshin bureau attack (朝日新聞阪神支局襲撃事件).